Suspension Suggestions and Experiences

[Juice]

Roush front springs and mating roush shocks makes for a very rough ride on crappy roads...extremely stiff. I sat on it, doesn't budge. The roush front spring is 1/2" lower than oem. Roush front shock lower's it another 1/2". I ended up busting a front roush shock, so went to oem front shocks....but still use the roush front springs.. which are 20% stiffer than oem springs.

The Roush springs and shocks, the 427R stuff, is bearly stiffer than the stock V6 suspension as far as ride quality goes. And works way better on track. I can't understand why you would call that a very rough ride.

Now my 91, with 800lb front springs, Koni yellows, and all rubber bushings removed in the front (delalum zero deflection control arm bushings) has a very stiff ride on the street. I should soften this up for selling it. lol

 

[Pentalab]

The Roush springs and shocks, the 427R stuff, is bearly stiffer than the stock V6 suspension as far as ride quality goes. And works way better on track. I can't understand why you would call that a very rough ride.

Now my 91, with 800lb front springs, Koni yellows, and all rubber bushings removed in the front (delalum zero deflection control arm bushings) has a very stiff ride on the street. I should soften this up for selling it. lol

On smooth roads, it's just fine. Hit a speed bump at > 1 mph, and my coffee goes through the roof.
parked, and pushing down with both hands on top of fender well, I could not budge it 1mm. Our local roads around here have deteriorated somewhat. I can't even fathom the concept of A 800 LB FRONT SPRING.

 

[Juice]

parked, and pushing down with both hands on top of fender well, I could not budge it 1mm.

That describes my 91.
I just tried that on mine, get maybe a 1/2 inch, slightly less I think.

 

[GriffX]

These springs are the FoMoCo OEM production springs that were installed on my Stang at the factory when built. The tag color (lt blue) that is attached to the spring & 2 letters at the end of the engineering number (AA, BA, CA, etc) indicate the spring rate\ride height dimension design of the OEM spring in question. Been looking for the chart that tells what each color\letter designation represents but haven't located that yet.

All FoMoCo OEM production springs regardless of spring rate\ride height design are black powder coated.

They aren't the Ford Performance "aftermarket" springs that are blue powder coated that use the "K" or "P" or "T" letter designation to denote spring rate\ride height drop from OEM.

You might have an issue finding a FoMoCo OEM production spring that lowers ride height that much........

Thanks, color code blue, I see. I have red stripe on it. -GG (?) I remember that the Bullitt springs were a bit shorter but not enough to do the work and spend money. Eibach and H&R in Germany with approval are too short for my driveway and the bad roads here.

Don't get the spring diagram. The weight on a rear wheel is around 600 lbs? So its compressed 4,5 inch and spring rate is linear, right?

 

[MrBhp]

Is this graph etc, just the springs by themselves.... or with mating shocks/dampers ???

That's just the force required to compress the spring a given amount. They put the spring in a press with a weight scale sandwiched in. I think. There was a small write up that accompanied this chart, but I can't find it. I think it was on another forum.

 

[MrBhp]

Thanks, color code blue, I see. I have red stripe on it. -GG (?) I remember that the Bullitt springs were a bit shorter but not enough to do the work and spend money. Eibach and H&R in Germany with approval are too short for my driveway and the bad roads here.

Don't get the spring diagram. The weight on a rear wheel is around 600 lbs? So its compressed 4,5 inch and spring rate is linear, right?

Yes, I believe those springs are linear. As to your other questions, I leave that to the wiser and more experienced. Terry Fair, who produced that spring rate sheet, is super knowledgeable. And also a self professed ass. @Norm Peterson has a good deal of knowledge, based on a lot of track time, and an engineering degree to back it up. He can draw you lots of charts and graphs. And he's seems to be a nice guy. Lot of other guys on here as well that know what they are doing.
As far as the rough ride goes, usually the cause is hitting the bump spots, or an aggressive damper. USUALLY. If you go with an 800lb spring, you're going to look like two bobble head Julios bouncing down the road.

 

[07 Boss]

Is this graph etc, just the springs by themselves.... or with mating shocks/dampers ???

That shouldn't make a difference. Shocks only dampen the movement speed, not the distance.

 

[Pentalab]

That shouldn't make a difference. Shocks only dampen the movement speed, not the distance.

Point well taken. Perhaps I should have sat on it (front pass side fender well) with my meager 150 lbs for a few minutes, instead of a few seconds. (Roush front springs + roush front shocks)... = zero deflection, none. Pushing down with both hands as hard as I could on the pass side fender well, same deal, zero deflection. Fn rock hard. Great on smooth roads and hwy's... but absolute crap on shitty roads. Same deal on driver's side.

 

[LikeabossTM]

That shouldn't make a difference. Shocks only dampen the movement speed, not the distance.

Not to be pedantic, but the overall travel will be reduced as well. That said, it's likely minimal enough to be discounted for the most part.

 

[Juice]

I have seen new gas charged shocks/struts actually raise car a little.

 

[Tman]

Point well taken. Perhaps I should have sat on it (front pass side fender well) with my meager 150 lbs for a few minutes, instead of a few seconds. (Roush front springs + roush front shocks)... = zero deflection, none. Pushing down with both hands as hard as I could on the pass side fender well, same deal, zero deflection. Fn rock hard. Great on smooth roads and hwy's... but absolute crap on shitty roads. Same deal on driver's side.

I have had the complete opposite experience with the Roush kit. I feel it rides very good compared to stock and handles way better for spirited driving. I have tried several different set ups. In fact I have even gone back to the Roush set up after using Steeda stuff because I felt it Road better while maintaining great performance.

As far as lower control arms goes I really like the 2013 stock ones. Not sure what other years they were on but these were a really nice compromise between performance and comfort.

Couple of things that could be beneficial to the OP. You can change just the bushing in your stock sway bar. Keeps the anti-vibration properties of the stock bar and a much better bushing. Works pretty well and only runs about 25 to 30 bucks for the parts. This will take most of the side to side sponginess out of the handling when you’re changing lanes quickly. Kind of a pain to change out though. Or better yet go with a watts link. One of the best upgrades I think you can do for suspension handling. Hard to believe the difference when you’re hitting bumpy curves. Really minimizes the hop in the rear.


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[Pentalab]

I have had the complete opposite experience with the Roush kit. I feel it rides very good compared to stock and handles way better for spirited driving. I have tried several different set ups. In fact I have even gone back to the Roush set up after using Steeda stuff because I felt it Road better while maintaining great performance.

As far as lower control arms goes I really like the 2013 stock ones. Not sure what other years they were on but these were a really nice compromise between performance and comfort.

Couple of things that could be beneficial to the OP. You can change just the bushing in your stock sway bar. Keeps the anti-vibration properties of the stock bar and a much better bushing. Works pretty well and only runs about 25 to 30 bucks for the parts. This will take most of the side to side sponginess out of the handling when you’re changing lanes quickly. Kind of a pain to change out though. Or better yet go with a watts link. One of the best upgrades I think you can do for suspension handling. Hard to believe the difference when you’re hitting bumpy curves. Really minimizes the hop in the rear.


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On my 2010 GT auto, I had the Eaton tru trac LSD installed at the same time as the whiteline watts link. That combo.. vs oem, is like apples + oranges. The oem LSD is junk, and even the LSD with the GT-500 carbon fiber discs is no better, the discs melt. The watts link does indeed work superb, when hitting bumpy curves /corners.

 

[07 Boss]

Suspension is very subjective to the individual. I have gone through I don't know how many spring/shock combos trying to dial my car in the way I want it. Now my car is a little more build specific but you get the idea. There is an infinite number of ways to set the car up. I went as far as cutting shit off and welding stuff on.





Completely reworked the front and have had at least 4 different spring and shock set ups.




The only piece I originally replaced on the car that has remained and hasn't been replaced again are my old school BMR LCA's.





Swapped front and rear sway bars a few times too. Currently the front bar is deleted and the rear bar is an Extreme BMR set up.






My point being there is more than one way to do this and there is no one answer that will satisfy everyone's needs.

 

[GT R13]

I went with Steeda and couldn’t be happier with it. Got the pro action shocks and struts, sport lowering springs,upper control arm, bumpsteer kit , front lower control arms with X11 extended ball joints , adjustable billet front end links , adjustable front sway bar ( set to the middle hole) , rear sway bar and end links , adjustable panhard bar. Only non Steeda parts were the BMR lcas that were already on the car when I bought it. Probably going to go with the BMR relocation brackets as well. Car is a pretty stiff ride but turns on a dime and just handles. I did put the Ford performance jounce bumper kit on and cut off about an inch on them. This set up is really tight and a lot fun , I love it!